The hearts that are longing for peace, the souls that are athirst for salvation, and the minds that would see God , all stretch forth their hands asking to be filled. And this task which lies before the priests of the church is only surpassed by the joy they find in fulfilling it. How beauteous are their feet Who stand on Zion's hill, Who bring salvation on their tongues. And words of peace reveal. Hymn 487 (The sermon has many good thoughts. The introduction is too long and there is no proper conclusion, no direct appeal, no personal touch. Indeed, this is more an essay than a sermon. Ask yourself- what result did I seek in those who hear this?) A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ An early, pre-Second World War, sermon. St . Paul very often uses a soldier to denote the character of a Christian. On his way to Rome he saw and admired the Roman soldiers. He admired the vision, the courage, the self-sacrifice and the will-to-do of the Roman soldier. Let us consider these characteristics of a good soldier. The first quality which is necessary in a good soldier is Vision. When the men enlisted and went to France they had a vision in their minds of their loved ones at home suffering under a cruel rule. They had a vision of their friends as slaves. And with this vision before them they were ready to give their lives for others. It was a vision that drove them to pay that great sacrifice. The other day I asked a returned man, "Would you go to war if war was declared?" "Yes," he said, "if I thought that my staying home would cause my loved ones to suffer." As we have that vision of the sufferings and cruelty caused by war, so do we have the vision of suffering and sadness caused by the greatest of all wars, the war of sin. Sins of all natures. The war that not only leaves the mortal effect but which also kills the soul, the very God within us, the sin of greed and dishonesty which keeps so many people poor and underfed, the sin of intemperance which can only bring sorrow and suffering in its train, and the sin of fornication which 29